Greedy still the man at the point

Steve Carp

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1997 | 12:07 p.m.

Just because he played only 12 minutes doesn't mean Bill Bayno has given up on playing Greedy Daniels at point guard.

In fact, Daniels, the 6-foot freshman from New Orleans who made his first start at the point Tuesday in UNLV's 62-50 win over Nevada-Reno, will start Sunday against Tulane.

"With Greedy, it's still a matter of understanding the position and learning," Bayno said. "It's the toughest position to learn to play and it's going to take time."

Daniels struggled out of the gate early trying to get the Rebels going offensively. And after giving Daniels a few minutes to sort himself out and seeing he was still having a rough go of it, Bayno replaced him with sophomore Mark Dickel.

Dickel eventually got the team into an offensive flow and played 17 minutes in the second half, 31 overall, finishing with four assists and just one turnover.

The decision to leave Dickel in was based on performance.

"It wasn't anything Greedy was doing," Bayno said. "Mark Dickel was playing great and I substitute by feel. I wasn't going to take him out.

"But Greedy will start at Tulane Sunday."

Dickel said as long as the team is winning, that's fine by him.

"I have nothing to prove," he said. "I just went out and did my job.

"There'll be nights where Greedy struggles and I've got to pick it up for him."

There was a point late in the first half when Bayno went back to playing Daniels and Dickel together. But eventually, Dickel stayed on the floor with Brian Keefe and Corky Ausborne working with him in the backcourt.

Dickel said to fret over who starts would be greedy on his part.

"There's no room to be selfish on this team," he said.

Hoop du jour

* MORE JUGGLING: The idea of playing Tyrone Nesby strictly at small forward also was scrapped during Tuesday's game. Nesby wound up back at power forward midway through the first half and eventually got untracked back at the small forward spot. But Nesby will start at the three spot Sunday against Tulane. ... As for Keon Clark, coach Bill Bayno said he hasn't decided whether or not the 6-11 center will make his 1997-98 debut Sunday as a starter or a sub. "I'm still thinking about it," he said. "But Keon's going to get his minutes regardless, so I don't know how big a deal it is."

* PHASE TWO ENDS: With Tuesday's win, the second phase of UNLV's piecemeal season concluded on an up note. The Rebels finished the five-game homestand 3-2 with newcomers Issiah Epps and Brian Keefe. ... Phase Three will last three games until Kevin Simmons is eligible to join the team at Texas-El Paso on Jan. 17. That will be the first time the Rebels' roster will be intact and Phase Four will be under way. ... With the win, UNLV ends December 4-4 and moved back over the .500 mark at 6-5 overall. ... A reminder that Sunday's game tips off at 6:30 p.m. locally and will be televised live on ESPN2. ... The team will take today off and practice New Year's Day to prepare for Tulane. The Rebels leave for New Orleans Friday morning.